Resident who appealed eastern Manitoba mine licence says environment minister's comments are 'inauthentic'
NDP cabinet used order in July to quash appeals against new licence for Tanco mine
A Lac du Bonnet-area resident who saw Premier Wab Kinew's cabinet quash his appeal against a new licence for an eastern Manitoba mine is questioning whether Environment and Climate Change Minister Mike Moyes took his concerns seriously.
On July 16, Kinew's cabinet issued an order-in-council to dismiss all four appeals filed against a 2024 provincial decision to grant a new environmental licence to Sinomine Resource Group's Tanco mine alongside Bernic Lake, home to cesium, tantalum and lithium deposits.
According to the cabinet order, the appeals were dismissed because they raised concerns that were already addressed during the environmental assessment process by placement of conditions on the Tanco mine's licence.
Aaron Wiebe, one of the four appellants, said he doesn't believe that's the case. Wiebe said the dismissal notice he received from Moyes on July 29 — seven and a half hours after CBC News reported the appeals had been quashed — was a form letter that did not address any of his concerns.
"These letters are carbon copies of each other. It just is so inauthentic," Wiebe said last week in an interview from his home on Pinawa Bay, Man., a community along the Lee River.
"It's concerning that the dismissal letter from the minister is very templated. I compared it to one [received by one] of the other people that had submitted an appeal and it was basically exactly the same."
Water quality concerns
Wiebe said his appeal raised specific concerns about the infrequency of water quality testing on Bernic Lake.
In the dismissal notice, Moyes said he took "careful consideration" and noted the environmental licence granted to the mine requires its operators to monitor the effluent discharged into the lake.
Wiebe said he took issue with the "careful consideration" comment.
"It was just regurgitating licence terms and items without actually even attempting to answer any of my questions," Wiebe said.
"You're manipulating me, right? You're making me feel like you care, but you don't care. I would literally rather not get responded to or told to go away."
Wiebe said he he is well aware of licence conditions, given that he spent hours reviewing the licence before filing the appeal on behalf of himself and several neighbours who did not have the time to undertake the appeals process.
"I'm sure that the concentrations are very diluted once they get to Lac du Bonnet, but how could there not be measures in place to test Bernic Lake itself?" Wiebe said.
Progressive Conservative Leader Obby Khan says the governing NDP should allow appeals to be heard.
"The NDP are making decisions behind closed doors. They're boxing Manitobans out," Khan said in an interview last week.
In an interview last week, Moyes said he would consider looking at the environmental appeals process to make it more transparent.
But the minister repeated his contention the environmental licence addressed Wiebe's concern about the absence of water testing on Bernic Lake, as opposed to the effluent entering the body of water.
"These appeals, they brought up various issues and in the licence we addressed those appeals, working with experts in the field, including water experts to ensure that we are protecting Manitoba's environment ... We're always going to protect the water, the land, the air in Manitoba," the minister said in his office.
"It's something that is near and dear to my heart as a parent. I want to make sure that Manitoba is a clean province for generations to come."
A spokesperson for Sinomine Resource Group did not respond to requests for comment by CBC News over the past week.
Wiebe said the Tanco mine is an important part of his community and said his quarrel over the licence is with the province for the way it regulates the mine.
"Lots of people in the community that work there see things first-hand and they're thankful for employment," he said. "But that is immediately upstream of us here. People take water out of the lake to drink, to shower, et cetera. You have kids doing water sports, with water splashing out of their mouth."
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